Bound for the Cape of Good Hope: the fate of the Osler Party, 1820.

On 11 November 1820, a letter was published in the Royal Cornwall Gazette detailing the experiences of a party of settlers who had migrated from Falmouth to the Cape Colony at the tip of South Africa. (1) It was written by William Mallett, a 45-year-old mason from Penryn, who along with his wife Elizabeth and 10 other families, had travelled aboard the ship Weymouth to Cape Town and finally to Port Elizabeth (now Gqeberha) with the intention of settling in a new land. The letter depicted the hopes, optimism and challenges experienced early on in a venture that ultimately failed. What was the historical context of Osler party to South Africa in 1820?  Who were William and Elizabeth Mallett of Penryn and what was their fate? Why did the venture fail and was that typical of the wider scheme to Anglicise the Cape Colony?

The Amazon at Port Elizabeth, Algoa Bay, Uitenhage Division, 1852 by T. Baines & W. Simpson.

Baines, T (artist); Day and Son (engravers); Rudolph Ackermann (publishers); Simpson, W (engraver), Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons (i)

This specific expedition was led by Benjamin Osler, a merchant from Falmouth, and took the form of a joint stock party with each member providing their own deposit. (2) But this was part of a larger migration program in post-Napoleonic Britain which saw approximately one million subsidised to emigrate to the colonies by 1840. There were 90, 000 applicants for the South African scheme but only 4, 000 were accepted along with another thousand who were self-funded. Settlers were granted 100 acres as part of a scheme that in regard to the Cape Colony as much about stablising and expanding interior settlement as it was about providing a solution to growing poverty and inequity at home that had been exacerbated by an extended period of conflict. (3) Perhaps William Mallett's personal enthusiasm to migrate is reflected in the fact that he wrote to the Secretary of State for the Colonies on 6 November 1819 having engaged to participate, enquiring about the particulars of the voyage specifically the date and point of departure (!). (4) It can be assumed that part of that anxiety related to the fact that he had already paid the nominal deposit of 10 pounds. The Malletts were probably representative of many of the self-funded migrants in that they were mostly skilled and possessed some small amount of capital. (5)

The acquisition of the Cape Colony by the British had been itself an inadvertent result of the Napoleonic wars. The Prince of Orange had ordered its surrender to the British in 1795 following the French invasion of the Netherlands. Dutch rule was reasserted from 1803 but in 1806 as part of a wider geopolitical strategy, the British retook the colony and were to rule it for another century. (6) The Netherlands formally transferred sovereignty in 1814. (7) The remaining Dutch elite were an asset to the British and combined with significant reforms, the economy had begun to grow. (8) While there are some accounts that the English looked down at the Dutch residents as being 'lazy', William Mallett was to comment in 1820 that the local Dutch farmers 'appear very civil people'. (9) The great source of anxiety by those attempting to Anglicise the territory was indigenous resistance and expansion on the Eastern frontier. (10) 

Map of the Eastern Frontier, Cape of Good Hope, c. 1835 —note the indicated locations of settler farms within the division of Albany.

I created the map, based partly on the source map: Eastern frontier of the Colony of the Cape of Good Hope from Algoa Bay to the Great Kei River, which appears opposite page 620 of ‘The autobiography of Lieutenant-general Sir Harry Smith’ by G.C.B. Bart, Chapter xlviii, published 1903, as part of the online Build a Book initiative. JMK 11:03, 26 December 2007 (UTC), CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons (ii)

Overall, William Mallett's letter home reflects the early enthusiasm and optimistic hopes for the colony.  The voyage appears to have been long, but relatively smooth. The ship made the Canary Islands on 24 January, anchoring at Palma. An encounter with a Spanish pirate brig was probably the first reminder of the dangers associated with migration in the period. While the brig stood across their bow, the Weymouth fired in response and brought her to, letting them go after an inspection. On 21 February they experienced their first squall which William described it as 'terrible', followed by another before they reached the equatorial line on 2 March. The heavy rain had thankfully replenished the ship's fresh water supply. They clearly enjoyed the journey as there are mentions of fishing, including catches of turtles, sharks and a 'fine dolphin'. After crossing the Tropic of Capricorn on 2 April, they finally spotted the Cape of Good Hope on 25 April. On 9 May the ship sailed from Table Bay for Algoa Bay, which is still 500 miles distant from Cape Town! They anchored there on 18 May, disembarked within two days and began a trek that took them 120 miles overland, involving five to six wagons. This was clearly a hard journey as he notes that as there were no lodgings available, all the party had to sleep either inside or under their wagons. Thankfully they arrived at Bathurst Town on 30 May. (11) 

1820 Settlers camped near the Big Fish River, Date Unknown by Frederick Timpson.

J. J. Redgrave & Edna Bradlow, Public Domain, via Wikimedia Commons (iii)

As hard as life must have been, William Mallett at least appears to have felt no regrets about undertaking the migration. By the time he came to write his letter on 3 July 1820, the couple resided in a little hut complimented by a tent. He related the news that they have been able to grow or acquire plenty of food as he mentions due to the 'healthiest climate in the world' that '...anything will grow any time of the year, and we can get two or three crops a year.' Regardless, they were receiving subsidised rations from the government which included a pound and a half of mutton, a pound of bread and a 'noggin' of brandy per day for 6d. They were able to purchase tea for 3s a pound, rice, sugar, soap, candles and more (presumably from Bathurst). They had also started to accumulate livestock in the form of five sheep. Significantly he notes that they possessed 'no desire to leave it again to return to England'. But this was still the wild frontier, and he indicates the aided a party of several men including a preacher who had been lost in the wilderness. The preacher returned to the party the following Sunday and they were able to form a 'class of eleven' which he suggested was the first Methodist church formed by the settlers in the new country. Even so, by July there appear to be hints that a shift to nearby Bathurst was on the cards. Mallett wrote: '...I do expect to remove into Bathurst soon to live, the officers tell me I shall be wanted in soon; our wages is about 2s. per day, it is a most delightful spot, and we shall have land enough there.' This alludes to a realisation that the 100-acre allotments at Pendennis were inadequate for their needs. (12) 

In fact, in July 1820, William Mallett remained so optimistic of the opportunities offered by the colony that he appears to have been encouraging relatives to join him. In the letter he declares: 'Send me Jonathan, and it will be better than a fortune for him; let him go to London and he will get a passage in an East Indiaman cheap, and if he comes to Cape Town, or Simon's Town, he can get a passage to Algoa bay, and there he can come up with the waggons...' This is likely a clue as to William's identity. A Jonathan Mallett was born at Penryn around 1799 to a John Mallett and his wife Prudence (formerly Tresidder). Our William was likely John's brother making Jonanthan his nephew. Jonathan didn't migrate himself but remained in Penryn and married Mary Fittock in 1828; at least three of their sons (Jonathan junior, William and Jaspar) as well as a grandson (Alfred) also became masons. A William Mallett who had been born at Penryn around 1779 married a Margaret Piper and together they had at least two children (Elisabeth born around 1800 and Jenefer born around 1803). We can't be certain this is the same person as our letter writer as his occupation is not listed on either baptism record, but a witness to the wedding was indeed a John Mallett. It is possible then that by 1819, William might have already been widowed and remarried before making the decision to emigrate. William and Elizabeth Mallett were not accompanied by any children to the Cape Colony and as they were both aged in their mid-forties by that time, a lack of fecundity may have even been an advantage when venturing into the unknown. (13)

Map of Osler's Party Land allocation (Pendennis), 1820, (now Grove Hill in the Mansfield Game Reserve), prepared by Colin Mallett

Prepared with google maps and based on 'Settler Farm Outline: Pendennis' by Paul Tanner-Tremaine, British 1820 Settlers to South Africa Website (iv)

The 'new town' established by the Osler party, about 12 miles South of Bathurst, was named Pendennis in honour of the old country. Yet within a couple of years Osler and most of his family had relocated back to Cornwall. He was succeeded by another member of the party, a shoemaker named John Dale, but the party gradually dissipated. Philip Payton has argued that this was most likely due to a lack of agricultural skill among the party members, in addition to a lack of adequate finance. Some members gravitated to nearby Grahamstown, while the Malletts themselves relocated to Uitenhage near Port Elizabeth. (14) Robert Ross has observed that hardship made most settlers understand that it was a direct connection with the government that provided opportunity. (15) Aran S. McKinnon has further suggested that many other circumstantial factors played a role in the failure, including persistent drought, crop disease, floods and indigenous resistance. (16)

Indeed, in March 1823 a statement was sent to the Secretary of State for the Colonies and signed by approximately 170 British settlers. The general sentiment was that the colonial government did not understand what support was needed in such a foreign environment. There were two central criticisms expressed concerning the scheme. Firstly the 100-acre grant was seen as inadequate, and it is indicated that about 4000 acres was required for a settler to achieve subsistence level. Secondly the settlers were hampered by the systematic withholding of two thirds of the deposit which they claimed it had been stipulated they were to be repaid on relocation. The removal of the magistracy, troops and government support from the settlement of Bathurst appears to have compounded those problems as well as providing encouragement for indigenous resistance—which all served to further distract them from their role as farmers. The lack of access to a wider market due as much to administrative policy as geographic isolation, also hampered their progress. It's understandable then that many settlers were drawn back to 'more profitable pursuits' in the more distant population centres. (17) Among the signatories was a 'J. Weeks' who is likely the James Weeks, baker and confectioner, who had been a member of the Osler Party who by that time relocated to Grahamstown and eventually died there in 1835. (18)

1820 Settlers National Monument

Witstinkout, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons (v)

The Osler party of 1820 was part of wider scheme of migration aimed at stabilising and developing the newly acquired Cape of Good Hope Colony. The experiences detailed in the letter written by William Mallett, a member of the Osler party, give a firsthand insight into the challenges involved in the process of migration. He belonged to a skilled, working-class family that was perhaps suffering or at least hampered, during a period of economic uncertainty and social unrest. His enduring optimism may have been as much an indication of the levels of frustration with his limited prospects for improvement at home in post-Napoleonic England then it was of the true degree of promise found in the new country.  His ultimate fate, along with that of his wife, is unclear although he seemed determined to remain in the colony apparently relocating to Uitenhage with the dissolution of the Osler Party.  While the subsidised migration scheme was genuine in its methods, it was poorly executed. The migrants were arguably unprepared, allocated inadequate allotments and given insufficient support. The challenges faced by the members of the Osler party then were probably typical of those involved in the scheme. By 1823 there was evident widespread dissatisfaction among the British settlers in the colony with the colony's administration. A settler statement to the Secretary of State for the Colonies prepared that year was signed by a former member of the Osler party. These barriers to prosperity resulted in many abandoning their grants and seeking opportunities in the population centres or in the case of the party leader himself, Benjamin Osler, returning home to England. 

-  Colin Mallett, 4 June 2025.

Endnotes

(1) 'New African Settlements', Royal Cornwall Gazette, 11 Nov 1820. I think it likely that the letter home was based on a diary - perhaps either kept by William or Elizabeth - as the surviving extract relates events, dates and places with a high level of detail. 

(2) M. D. Nash, The Settler Handbook: A New List of the 1820 Settlers, Cameleon Press, Johannesburg, 1987, p. 97.

(3) Aran S. Mackinnon, The Making of South Africa: culture and politics, Pearson/Prentice Hall, Upper Saddle River NJ, 2004, p. 54.

(4) National Archives, Kew CO48/41-46, as reproduced here: Sue Mackay, 'William Mallett, 1820 Settler', 1820 Correspondence, eGGSA Library website, 4 April 2015, https://www.eggsa.org/1820-settlers/index.php/correspondence/pre-1820-letters/m-menu/812-sp-1176370976, accessed 3 April 2025. 

(5) National Archives, Kew CO48/47, as reproduced here: Sue Mackay, 'Settler Returns', 1820 Correspondence, eGGSA Library website, 8 April 2015, OSLER's Party - 1820 Settlers South Africa - Correspondence, accessed 3 April 2025. In fact, the total deposit money collected for the voyage prior to departure amounted to 137 Pounds 10 Shillings and the fee appears to have related to the numbers and ages of the members of each family. The entire party of 43 people consisted of 11 men, 8 women, 1 child over and 23 children under 14 years.

(6) Robert Ross, Status and Responsibility in the Cape Colony 1750-1870: a tragedy of manners, Cambridge University Press, Cambridgem 1999,  pp. 40-3.

(7) Hywel Williams, Cassell's Chronology of World History, Weidenfeld and Nicolson, London, 2005, p. 364. The deal involved a payment of 20 million pounds to the Netherlands to acquire the colony. 

(8) Ross, Status and Responsibility in the Cape Colony 1750-1870, p. 46 & MacKinnon, The Making of South Africa, p. 49. Important measures according to MacKinnon were the shift away from the loan-farm system to full private owndership of farms and the widescale importation of merino sheep that facilitated improved wool exports. 

(9) Ross, Status and Responsibility in the Cape Colony 1750-1870, p. 42 & 'New African Settlements'

(10) McKinnon, The Making of South Africa, p. 54.

(11) 'New African Settlements'

(12) 'New African Settlements'

(13) Mallett, Colin, Mallett Research Folder 0, Unpublished Y-DNA research project, F000 MALLETT Folder 0, accessed 2 April 2025. Specifically refer to sections PenrynMallettsM, QQQ & UU. This study on the Malletts of Penryn has been based largely on data accessible on the Cornwall OPC (Online Parish Clerks) database: Gill Hart & Bill O'Reilly, Cornwall OPC database, https://www.cornwall-opc-database.org/search-database/, accessed 2 April 2025. Interestingly, several of my Mallett relatives - close and distant - share small autosomal DNA matches with various descendants of John and Prudence Mallett of Penryn. 

(14) Philip Payton, The Cornish Overseas: A History of Cornwall's Great Emigration, University of Exeter Press, Exeter, 2020, p. 64.

(15) Ross, Status and Responsibility in the Cape Colony 1750-1870, p. 61.

(16) McKinnon, The Making of South Africa, p. 55.

(17) National Archives, Kew CO48/61, p. 401 as reproduced here: Sue Mackay, 'Settler Statement, 1823', 1820 Correspondence, eGGSA Library website, 5 January 2011, https://www.eggsa.org/1820-settlers/index.php/correspondence/letters-after-1820/s-writers-surnamed-s/1738-settler-statement-1823 , accessed 2 April 2025. One of the signatories was Major George Pigot, the son of Lord Pigot of Patshull who during his lifetime had served as Governor of Madras.  

(18) Paul Tanner-Tremaine, 'James Weeks', British 1820 Settlers to South Africa website, https://www.1820settlers.com/genealogy/getperson.php?personID=I36325&tree=master , accessed 2 April 2025.

Figures and Illustrations

(i) T. Baines (Artist) & W. Simpson (Engraver), 'The Elizabeth at Port Elizabeth, Algoa Bay, Uitenhage Division, Rudolph Ackerman Publishing, 1852, https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:The_Amazon_at_Port_Elizabeth,_Algoa_Bay,_Division_of_Uitenhage_RMG_PY0565.tiff , accessed 2 April 2025.

(ii) Unknown creator, 'Map of the Eastern Frontier, Cape of Good Hope, c. 1835', (based on 'Eastern Frontier of the Colony from Algoa Bay to the Great Kei River' in G. C. B. Bart, The Autobiography of Lieutenant General Sir Harry Smith, Chapter xlviii, 1903) https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/f/f9/Eastern_Frontier%2C_Cape_of_Good_Hope%2C_ca_1835.png , accessed 2 April 2025.

(iii) Frederick Timpson, '1820 Settlers camped near the Great Fish River', Date Unknown, https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Frederick_Timpson_I%27Ons04.JPG , accessed 2 April 2025.

(iv) Colin Mallett, 'Map of Osler's Party Land Allocation (Pendennis), 1820,' prepared on Google Maps application, https://www.google.com/maps/d/u/0/edit?mid=1wjqDxqjI9ERWy5kfpo636BLQm-Q9Iu4&usp=sharing (based on Paul Tanner-Tremaine, 'Settler Farm Outline: Pendennis', British 1820 Settlers to South Africa website,  https://www.1820settlers.com/genealogy/maps/settlermap_pendennis.php), both accessed 2 April 2025.

(v) Unknown creator, '1820 Settlers National Monument', Wikimedia Commons, https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:1820_Settlers_National_Monument.jpg , accessed 2 April 2022. 

Bibliography

Primary Sources:

National Archives, Kew CO48/41-47, CO48/61

Royal Cornwall Gazette

Secondary Sources:

MacKinnon, A. S., The Making of South Africa: culture and politics, Pearson/Prentice Hall, Upper Saddle River NJ, 2004.

Nash, M. D., The Settler Handbook: A New List of the 1820 Settlers, Cameleon Press,Virginia, 1987.

Payton, P., The Cornish Overseas: A History of Cornwall's Great Emigration, (Revised and Updated Edition), University of Exeter Press, Exeter, 2020.

Ross, R., Status and Responsibility in the Cape Colony 1750-1870: a tragedy of manners, Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, 1999.

Williams, H., Cassell's Chronology of World History, Weidenfeld and Nicolson, London, 2005.

Online Sources:

Hart G. & O'Reilly, B., Cornwall OPC Database, https://www.cornwall-opc-database.org/search-database/, accessed 2 April 2025. 

Mackay, S., 'Settler Returns', 1820 Correspondence, eGGSA Library website, 8 April 2015, https://www.eggsa.org/1820-settlers/index.php/related-records/settler-returns/1949-osler-s-party, accessed 3 April 2025. 

Mackay, S., 'Settler Statement, 1823', 1820 Correspondence, eGGSA Library website, 5 January 2011, https://www.eggsa.org/1820-settlers/index.php/correspondence/letters-after-1820/s-writers-surnamed-s/1738-settler-statement-1823 , accessed 2 April 2025.

Mackay, S., 'William Mallett, 1820 Settler', 1820 Correspondence, eGGSA Library website, 4 April 2015, https://www.eggsa.org/1820-settlers/index.php/correspondence/pre-1820-letters/m-menu/812-sp-1176370976, accessed 3 April 2025.

Mallett, Colin, Mallett Research Folder 0, Unpublished Y-DNA research project, F000 MALLETT Folder 0, accessed 2 April 2025.

Tanner-Tremaine, P, 'James Weeks', British 1820 Settlers to South Africa website, https://www.1820settlers.com/genealogy/getperson.php?personID=I36325&tree=master , accessed 2 April 2025.

Tanner-Tremaine, P. 'Settler Farm Outline: Pendennis'. British 1820 Settlers to South Africa website, https://www.google.com/maps/d/u/0/edit?mid=1wjqDxqjI9ERWy5kfpo636BLQm-Q9Iu4&usp=sharing , accessed 2 April 2025.

Wikimedia Commons, https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Main_Page, accessed 2 April 2025.

A convict cold case: William Mallett (1797-1852)

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Over the next few months I am going to publish a series of short historical biographies of selected individuals who are all of some interest to me, beginning with my convict ancestor William Mallett (1797-1852). I hope you find them as intriguing as I do - Colin.

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William Mallett was 18 years old when he was arrested for burglary in Penryn, Cornwall in 1815. (1)  In the morning of 16 November, William was observed leaving the Anchor Inn and heading in the direction of the nearby custom house. William was pursued by the owner, Henry Plint, to a docked vessel at the Quay, the Commerce. Located hiding in the forecastle he was found in possession of a silver teaspoon which Plint asserted was his property. On 25 March 1816, William was tried for burglary and robbery at the Cornwall Assizes, Launceston before Sir Robert Graham and James Allan Park and sentenced to death. (2) Fortunately for William, his sentence was subsequently reprieved. (3) When he was received aboard the hulk Leviathan on 24 May 1816 he had turned 19 and his sentence had been commuted to ‘Life’. (4) William was described as a shoemaker, and being 5 foot 7 inches in height, having a dark complexion with brown hair and hazel eyes. (5) He was variously listed as William Mallett junior or William Mallett the younger. (6) He was transported via the Fame, departing from Spithead, London on 9 October 1816. The Fame arrived in Sydney on 8 March 1817. (7)

Map of the Quay at Penryn site of William's arrest in 1815.

Before transportation to New South Wales ceased in 1840, the ‘worst characters’ were often transferred to Van Diemen’s Land. (8) William was indeed transferred to Hobart Town, Van Diemen’s Land via the Pilot on 11 September 1817 along with 104 other male convicts. (9) His identifying police number was 42. (10) Over the next several years William began to improve his life in Van Diemen’s Land and impress as a participant in the ‘assignment system’. This system was designed to provide cheap labour to the emerging colonial economy as well as provide a reformative influence to the convict population.(11) Even so, William experienced his first rematch with authority in 1823: while working on a ticket of leave, he was charged with stealing tools from a Doctor McNab and on the 29 March he was fined 3 pounds. (12) He married convict Jane Brickhill at St. John’s Church, Launceston on 9 September 1828.(13) Between July 1828 and May 1830, William was working for settler Andrew Barclay on a Ticket-of-Leave. (14) He likely participated in Governor Arthur’s infamous black line project which was compulsory for all convicts who had been granted a ticket of leave. (15) When three of William and Jane’s children were baptised together in the Christchurch Parish at  'Camperdown' on 3 October 1832, he listed his occupation as ‘Fencer’. (16) William’s conduct record indicates that he was granted a conditional pardon (No. 379) on 21 August 1832. (17)

However, by the end of the decade, William’s life was to suffer a significant setback. On 20 October 1837, William was found in possession of £20 worth of bank notes belonging to a Michael Connolly of Launceston. Connolly had just received a large quantity of bank notes from the Tamar Bank in Launceston, dropped some on his way home and realising his mistake, turned back to see a boy running away with a handful of them. He followed the boy home inside found the boy’s father, William, holding the notes. (18) William was charged with stealing and sentenced on 3 Jan 1838 to seven years transportation with two years of his sentence to be served at Port Arthur Penal Station. (19) Established in 1830 as a place of secondary punishment for recidivists, Port Arthur employed convicts in timber felling, milling and coal mining. While not as austere as Macquarie Harbour and Norfolk Island, discipline could be still be strict. (20) William was officially punished three times during his sentence, including being confined on bread and water for being found ‘improperly in possession of potatoes’ on 4 July 1839. (21)  

William’s conviction had a severe impact on his family, although there are indications that there were pre-existing tensions in his marriage. In December 1830, William reported Jane for being absent and drunk and she was sentenced to 10 days solitary confinement on bread and water. While also pregnant with their last child, Jane was also charged with being complicit in the Connolly affair but avoided conviction. (22) Although he was the second eldest son, William’s namesake was the only child placed in Queen’s Orphanage in New Town following the conviction. (23)  Their last child, Joseph, died aged two months of a ‘visitation by God’ and was buried in March 1838 in the Anglican cemetery in Cypress Street, Launceston. (24) Over the next few years there was an exodus of their surviving children to colony of Victoria: the eldest son George was the first to transfer to Portland in 1840 (and again in 1842); the younger surviving children James and Thomas were employed by the Henty family and travelled there in 1841. (25) There are indications that Jane may have struggled to cope with increased poverty, increasing drunkenness, often finding herself at odds with the local police. (26) Following William’s second conviction, between 1838 and 1846, Tardif reports that Jane was charged on no less than 17 occasions for drunkenness or obscene language or both! (27) Although she departed for Port Fairy, Victoria in 1848, she may have returned and been the ‘Jane Mullett’, servant, who died in Launceston in 1853. (28)

James Mallett (1835-1901) son of William and Jane Mallett, aged 31.

Over the next several years, William progressed through the system for the second time. His second sentence had coincided with the instigation of the probation system. Although this system claimed to be just and be designed to reward good conduct, it insisted that prisoners be treated according to the severity of their sentence and be subjected to successive stages of punishment utilising such methods as solitary confinement and hard labour which overall contributed to ‘increased misery’. (29) In April 1842 he was discovered drunk and out after hours and sentenced to 6 days solitary confinement. He was granted a ticket of leave on 10 March 1843. The following October he was reported for visiting a public house and absenting himself without leave for 10 days. William’s journey through the judicial system finally ended when his conditional pardon was extended on 21 October 1845. (30) Little is known of William’s later years regarding his personal productivity and independence but when he died in 1853, the informant was his daughter-in-law, Ann Mallett, who have her address as Bourke Street, Launceston. Although only 54, he had survived the transportation system twice, so he may have been ailing and in the care of what was left of his family. (31) William was buried from the colonial hospital in the Anglican cemetery at Cypress Street, Launceston, perhaps near the remains of his wife and their last child together. (32)

 -  Colin Mallett, 13 October 2023.

Endnotes

(1) ‘Cornwall Assizes’, Royal Cornwall Gazette, Falmouth Packet and Plymouth Journal (Truro, England), Issue 664, 16 March 1816, p 2, British Library Newspapers, accessed 24 May 2023.

(2) ‘Second Day’, Royal Cornwall Gazette, Falmouth Packet and Plymouth Journal (Truro, England), Issue 667, Thursday 6 April 1816, p 4, British Library Newspapers, accessed 24 May 2023.

(3) ‘Multiple News Items’, Royal Cornwall Gazette, Falmouth Packet and Plymouth Journal, Issue 666, Thursday 30 March 1816, p 2, British Newspapers, accessed 24 May 2023.

(4) Hulk record for William Mallett, The National Archives (UK): Home Office; Convict Prison Hulk Registers and Letter Books, HO9/8, 1802-1849, hulk register no. 3295, Ancestry.com, accessed 7 June 2023.

(5) State Archives NSW: New South Wales Government; Bound manuscript indents, NRS12188 4/4005 1788-1842, Ancestry.com, accessed 7 June 2023.

(6) ‘Cornwall Assizes’ & Criminal register for William Mallett junior, The National Archives (UK): Home Office; Criminal Registers for England and Wales, HO27/12 1791-1892, p 96, accessed 7 June 2023 & Transportation register for William Mallett the younger, The National Archives (UK): Home Office; Convict Transportation Registers, HO11/2 1791-1868, Ancestry.com, accessed 2 June 2023. He was even referred to once as Hugh Mallett but that was clearly an error: ‘Multiple News Items’.

(7) The Fame was 464 ton and built at Quebec in 1812. The Ship’s Master was Henry Dale and Surgeon was John Mortimer. The voyage lasted 150 days, transporting 200 male convicts among whom there were 2 deaths. See: Charles Bateson, The Convict Ships 1787-1868, Library of Australian History, North Sydney, 2004, pp 340,382.

(8) David T. Hawkings, Bound for Australia, Phillimore & Co. Ltd., Chichester, Sussex, 1987, p 2.

(9) Tasmanian Archives: Convict Department; Assignment Lists and associated papers, CON 13-1-1 1812-1859, p 96,  https://stors.tas.gov.au/CON13-1-1$init=CON13-1-1P85 , accessed 7 June 2023.

(10) Tasmanian Archives: Convict Department; Assignment system – male convicts, CON 31-1-29 1803-1843, https://stors.tas.gov.au/CON31-1-29$init=CON31-1-29P18 , accessed 7 June 2023.

(11) Richard Tuffin, ‘Assignment’, Companion to Tasmania History online, https://www.utas.edu.au/library/companion_to_tasmanian_history/A/Assignment.htm , accessed 23 May 2023.

(12) Tasmanian Archives: Convict Department; Assignment system – male convicts, CON 31-1-29 1803-1843, https://stors.tas.gov.au/CON31-1-29$init=CON31-1-29P18 , accessed 7 June 2023. This could have been Alexander McNab who was granted land on the island. Refer to: Land grant for Alexander McNab, granted 30 June 1823, State Records Authority New South Wales: New South Wales Government; New South Wales various Land Records, Fiche 3262 4/438 1788-1963, p 63, Ancestry.com, accessed 7 June 2023.

(13) Tasmanian Archives: Register General’s Department, Registers of Marriage (Pre Civil Registration), RGD 36/1/1, no. 1185, https://stors.tas.gov.au/NI/818391 , accessed 7 June 2023. Jane Brickhill’s own background and convict career is documented in Philip Tardif’s Notorious Strumpets and Dangerous Girls, Convict Women in Van Diemen’s Land 1820-1829, Angus and Robertson, North Ryde, 1990, pp 849-850.

(14) Register of passes to travel granted to William Mallett, 9 July 1829 & 8 May 1830, Tasmanian Archives: Convict Department; Passenger and Land Records, CON 81-1-1 1828-1833, Ancestry.com, accessed 7 June 2023 & G. H. Stancombe, ‘Andrew Barclay (1759-1839)’, Australian Dictionary of Biography online,  https://adb.anu.edu.au/biography/barclay-andrew-1739 , accessed 18 May 2023.

(15) Lyndall Ryan, ‘The Black Line in Tasmania: success or failure?’, Journal of Australian Studies, 2013, 37(1):3-11, p 11, http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/14443058.2012.755744 , accessed 18 May 2023. Ryan informs us that all convicts granted a ticket of leave were ordered to take part unless they could afford to provide a substitute. Of the 2200 men who took part in the operation it is estimated that 700 were convicts. 

(16) Baptisms of George, William and Elizabeth Mallett, baptised 3 October 1832, Christchurch Parish Register, Longford, Tasmania, Australia, No. 98-100.

(17) Tasmanian Archives: Convict Department; Assignment system – male convicts, CON 31-1-29 1803-1843, https://stors.tas.gov.au/CON31-1-29$init=CON31-1-29P18 , accessed 7 June 2023. The pardon though does not appear to have been gazetted until 1835. See: ‘Classified Advertising’, Hobart Town Courier, 30 January 1835, p 4,  http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article4181902 , accessed 24 May 2023.

(18) ‘Quarter Sessions’, Cornwall Chronicle (Tasmania), 6 January 1838, p 3, http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article65950265 , accessed 24 May 2023. Connolly found four in William’s hand and four more under his hat! In his defence, William reportedly told Connolly he was intending to use the notes to make a kite for the boy!! The boy in question was likely William’s namesake who had been born in 1830.

(19) Tasmanian Archives: Convict Department; Assignment system – male convicts, CON 31-1-29 1803-1843, https://stors.tas.gov.au/CON31-1-29$init=CON31-1-29P18 , accessed 7 June 2023. Connolly was a local entrepreneur who part owned a shipping agency that imported sheep and cattle and facilitated sealing and whaling. See:  Author Unknown, ‘Griffiths, Jonathan (1773-1839)’, Australian Dictionary of Biography online https://adb.anu.edu.au/biography/griffiths-jonathan-2128 , accessed 23 May 2023. Money appears to have continued to slip through his grasp as he was declared insolvent in 1843: ’Advertising’, Launceston Courier (Tasmania), 27 March 1843, p 5, http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article84674158 , accessed 24 May 2023.

(20) Lloyd Robson & Michael Roe, A Short History of Tasmania, Oxford University Press, South Melbourne, 1997, pp 15-16.

(21) Tasmanian Archives: Convict Department; Assignment system – male convicts, CON 31-1-29 1803-1843, https://stors.tas.gov.au/CON31-1-29$init=CON31-1-29P18 , accessed 7 June 2023.

(22) Tasmanian Archives: Convict Department; Comprehensive Registers of Convicts, Supplementary Conduct Registers, CON 40-1-1 1828-1853, https://stors.tas.gov.au/CON40-1-1$init=CON40-1-1P115, accessed 7 June 2023.

(23) While he is not named in any surviving court documents or in the press coverage, William junior may have been placed in the orphanage as a punishment. Tasmanian Archives:  Kings/Queens Orphans Schools; Register of Children Admitted and Discharged from the Male and Female Orphan School, SWD 28 1828-1863, orphan no. 3388.

(24) Tasmanian Archives: Register-General’s Department; Register of Burials in Tasmania, RGD34/1/1 1803-1933, no. 5527, https://stors.tas.gov.au/NI/1181125 , accessed 7 June 2023 & Diane Cassidy, Cypress Street Cemetery, self-published, Launceston, 2018, p 99.

(25) Tasmanian Archives: Colonial Secretary’s Office; George Town Port Officer’s Semi-Weekly Reports, CSO 95-1-1 1837-1847 pp 30, 129 & Courier, 13 August 1841, p 2. James Mallett’s recollections of arriving as a boy in Portland were recorded in his dotage in 1896. See: Bunt, ‘Pioneers of the West’, Casterton News, 20 April 1896,  http://www.swvic.org/merino/mallett.htm , accessed 23 May 2023. It not known what happened to William and Jane’s daughter Elizabeth born 1832 and it’s assumed she had died, perhaps before they settled in Launceston.

(26) Jane was described as a ‘regular visitor to the police’ in ‘Police Report’, Cornwall Chronicle (Tasmania), 13 March 1844, p 2,  http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article66017630 , accessed 24 May 2023 and as having ‘an extraordinary taste for distilled waters’ in ‘Police Report’, Cornwall Chronicle (Tasmania), 11 December 1844, p 2,  http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article66270795 , accessed 24 May 2023.

(27) Philip Tardif, Notorious Strumpets and Dangerous Girls, Convict Women in Van Diemen’s Land 1820-1829, Angus and Robertson, North Ryde, 1990, p 850.

(28) Tasmanian Archives: George Town Police; Returns of crews and passengers on ships departing from Launceston, POL 220-1-1 1848-1854, p 4, https://stors.tas.gov.au/NI/578848 accessed 7 June 2023 (listed as arriving via Providence and being free by servitude) & Tasmanian Archives: Register General’s Department; Registers of Hobart deaths and Launceston and country districts deaths, RGD35/1/22, no. 980, https://stors.tas.gov.au/NI/1195526 , accessed 2 June 2023.

(29) Michael Sprod, ‘Probation system’, Companion to Tasmania History online, https://www.utas.edu.au/library/companion_to_tasmanian_history/P/Probation%20system.htm accessed 18 May 2023.

(30) Tasmanian Archives: Convict Department; Assignment system – male convicts, CON 31-1-29 1803-1843, https://stors.tas.gov.au/CON31-1-29$init=CON31-1-29P18 , accessed 7 June 2023.

(31) It’s not known exactly how Ann was William’s daughter-in-law. It possible that while his son James prospered in Victoria, their son Thomas born around 1833 may have returned at some point to the island and she may have been his wife. A Thomas Mallett born around this time experienced a struggling life as an alcoholic and spent time in prison before he reformed and became a loved and trusted employee of the Shaw family of Castra Road, Ulverstone, dying in 1904. See: ‘Police Court’, Launceston Examiner, 14 September 1869, p 3, http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article36705936  accessed 24 May 2023; North West Advocate and Emu Bay Times, 7 July 1904, p 2, http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article64663824 accessed 24 May 2023; Kathleen Cocker, Early Houses of the North West Coast of Tasmania, E. H. Stancombe, Western Junction, 1984, p 66 & Tasmanian Archives, BDM registers; 1707/1904.

(32) Tasmanian Archives: Register General’s Department; Registers of Hobart deaths, Launceston and Country districts deaths, RGD 35-1-17, p 530, https://stors.tas.gov.au/RGD35-1-17P17 , accessed 7 June 2023 & Diane Cassidy, Cypress Street Cemetery, self-published, Launceston, 2018, p 99.

Bibliography

Primary Sources:

Archives:

 

Ancestry.com, Bound manuscript indents, NRS12188 4/4005 1788-1842.

Ancestry.com, Convict Prison Hulk Registers and Letter Books, HO9/8, 1802-1849.

Ancestry.com, Convict Transportation Registers, HO11/2 1791-1868.

Ancestry.com, Criminal Registers for England and Wales, HO27/12 1791-1892.

Ancestry.com, New South Wales various Land Records, Fiche 3262 4/438 1788-1963 1788-1963.

Ancestry.com, Passenger and Land Records, CON 81-1-1 1828-1833.

Christchurch Parish Register, Longford, Tasmania, Australia.

Tasmanian Archives: Colonial Secretary’s Office; George Town Port Officer’s Semi-Weekly Reports, CSO 95-1-1 1837-1847.

Tasmanian Archives: Convict Department; Assignment Lists and associated papers, CON 13-1-1 1812-1859.

Tasmanian Archives: Convict Department; Assignment system – male convicts, CON 31-1-29 1803-1843.

Tasmanian Archives: Convict Department; Comprehensive Registers of Convicts, Supplementary Conduct Registers, CON 40-1-1 1828-1853.

Tasmanian Archives: George Town Police; Returns of crews and passengers on ships departing from Launceston, POL 220-1-1 1848-1854.

Tasmanian Archives:  Kings/Queens Orphans Schools; Register of Children Admitted and Discharged from the Male and Female Orphan School, SWD 28 1828-1863.

Tasmanian Archives: Register-General’s Department; Register of Burials in Tasmania, RGD34/1/1 1803-1933.

Tasmanian Archives: Register General’s Department; Registers of Hobart deaths, Launceston and Country districts deaths, RGD 35-1-17.

Tasmanian Archives: Register General’s Department; Registers of Hobart deaths and Launceston and Country districts deaths, RGD35/1/22.

Tasmanian Archives: Register General’s Department, Registers of Marriage (Pre Civil Registration), RGD 36/1/1.

 

Newspapers:

 

Casterton News

Cornwall Chronicle (Tasmania)

Hobart Town Courier

Launceston Courier (Tasmania)

Launceston Examiner (Tasmania)

North West Advocate and Emu Bay Times

Royal Cornwall Gazette, Falmouth Packet and Plymouth Journal (Truro, England)

 

Secondary Sources:

 

Books:

 

Bateson, Charles, The Convict Ships 1787-1868, Library of Australian History, North Sydney, 2004.

Cassidy, Diane, Cypress Street Cemetery, self-published, Launceston, 2018.

Cocker, Kathleen, Early Houses of the North West Coast of Tasmania, E. H. Stancombe, Western Junction, 1984.

Hawkings, David T., Bound for Australia, Phillimore & Co. Ltd., Chichester, Sussex, 1987.

Robson, Lloyd & Roe, Michael, A Short History of Tasmania, Oxford University Press, South Melbourne, 1997.

Tardif, Phillip, Notorious Strumpets and Dangerous Girls, Convict Women in Van Diemen’s Land 1820-1829, Angus and Robertson, North Ryde, 1990.

 

Journal Articles:

 

Ryan, Lyndall, ‘The Black Line in Tasmania: success or failure?’, Journal of Australian Studies, 2013, 37(1):3-18, http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/14443058.2012.755744, accessed 18 May 2023.

 

Online Sources:

 

‘Griffiths, Jonathan (1773-1839)’, Australian Dictionary of Biography online, https://adb.anu.edu.au/biography/griffiths-jonathan-2128, accessed on 23 May 2023.

 

Sprod, Michael, ‘Probation system’, Companion to Tasmania History online, https://www.utas.edu.au/library/companion_to_tasmanian_history/P/Probation%20system.htm, accessed on 18 May 2023.

 

Stancombe, G. H., ‘Andrew Barclay (1759-1839)’, Australian Dictionary of Biography online,  https://adb.anu.edu.au/biography/barclay-andrew-1739 , accessed 18 May 2023.

 

Tuffin, Richard, ‘Assignment’, Companion to Tasmania History online, https://www.utas.edu.au/library/companion_to_tasmanian_history/A/Assignment.htm, accessed on 23 May 2023.